Help Me Remember
by Cody'sxFavoritexGirl
Summary: Mel Brooks makes a horrible mistake that she regrets immensely, but when her boyfriend Zack Ryder finds out, their future together is called into question. Zack Ryder/OC song-fic written for my bestest buddy Mel.


**A/N: I own nothing but the OC, so don't sue. This is a Zack Ryder/OC song-fic written for my best buddy Mel. I know you were excited for this, bud, so I hope you like it! :) The song used is "Help Me Remember" by Rascal Flatts. They own the song, not me. Reviews are very appreciated.**

**Help Me Remember**

**I know that you're leavin',**

**As soon as the sun comes through the window.**

**There's no talking this over.**

**The damage is done.**

**There's just too much hurt.**

**Too much to forgive.**

**Oh, but we both know.**

**We weren't always like this.**

"Zack, calm down," Mel Brooks begged her boyfriend, tears shimmering in her hazel eyes.

"Calm down?!" Zack Ryder shouted, throwing his hands up into the air and glaring at her viciously. "You're going to stand there and tell me to calm down after I've just found out that you cheated on me with Mike?! Are you fucking insane?!"

"Zack, it didn't mean anything," Mel told him, a pleading note to her voice. "It just happened."

"Don't give me that 'it just happened' bullshit, Mel, because you know just as well as I do that you could've stopped it at any time," Zack snarled. He seized the nearest thing he could find–a stick of deodorant–and whipped it at the wall. The stick bounced off, making a round dent in the plaster, but Zack was beyond caring at that point.

Mel flinched at the loud crack of the deodorant against the wall, and she stared at Zack as though he were a totally different person. This wasn't her Zack anymore. Her Zack never got angry like this, he never threw things or cursed at her. But then again, he'd never had reason to, until now.

**Help me remember.**

**The way that we used to be.**

**When nothin' else mattered,**

'**Cause you were lovin' me.**

**Just for the night, one last time.**

**One more good memory.**

**When I look back, that's what I wanna see.**

**Oh, help me remember.**

"I'm sorry," Mel whimpered, the tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Well what the fuck did you think would happen?" Zack demanded, his voice razor-sharp. "Did you think that I would accept it and just move on? Do you actually take me to be that compliant and stupid?"

"No!" Mel cried, taking a few steps towards him. "I don't think that at all! And I don't know what I thought would happen. I wasn't thinking at all, obviously."

"Oh, so he was just that good, huh?" Zack growled, backing away from her. "He made you forget about everything. Including me."

"Zack, no," Mel said, her voice breaking. "I could never forget about you."

"Well you did!" Zack shouted. "You hopped into bed with Mike without a second thought, so obviously I never meant as much to you as I thought. God, do I feel stupid. And to think that I thought you loved me."

"Zack, I do love you," Mel protested, her whole body shaking from the stress of the situation. "Just please, give me a chance to–"

"Get out," Zack interrupted her.

"What?" Mel said, stunned.

"You heard me," Zack said coldly. "I said get out. Get the fuck out of my room, and get the fuck out of my life. And don't come back, either."

Mel stared at him dumbly, feeling as though her whole world had come to a sharp and sudden halt.

Had he really just said what she thought he said?

**Those days that were so good.**

**Those nights that we held, held on forever.**

**When we weren't pretenders.**

**We were as real as we felt.**

**Oh, I don't want to fight anymore.**

**Don't want the last thing I hear tonight,**

**To be a slammin' door.**

**Baby, let it be like before.**

"You know I can't do that," Mel whispered shakily.

"I don't see why not. The door's right there," Zack snapped, pointing at the door. "Don't worry, I bet your boy toy Mike would be more than willing to let you stay at his place."

The venom in his voice sent a jolt right through her, and she felt pain blossom deep inside. "I don't want Mike!" she screamed, letting out all of her anguish and regret in that one cry. "I want you, Zack! It was always you! I was hurting and I was drunk, and I slept with Mike. And I regret it with every fiber of my being. I love you and I hate myself for hurting you this way. And I'm so sorry."

She broke down crying as soon as those last words left her mouth, and she sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself and trying so hard to stop, but being unable to. The pain of what she had done was just too much.

**Help me remember.**

**The way that we used to be.**

**When nothin' else mattered,**

'**Cause you were lovin' me.**

**Just for the night, one last time.**

**One more good memory.**

**When I look back, that's what I wanna see.**

**Oh, help me remember.**

A moment passed, and then a pair of strong arms went around her and pulled her into a hard chest. Mel clutched Zack's shirt in her fists and buried her face in his shoulder, and he stroked her hair and whispered soothing words in her ear.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Zack," she gasped, looking up into his bright blue eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."

**This could be the last time,**

**I look in your eyes.**

"Shh, it's okay, baby, I know," he murmured, kissing her forehead softly and wiping away her tears with his thumb. "I'm sorry that I flew off the handle like that. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No, you don't have to apologize for anything," Mel told him. "All of this is my fault. I'm the one who betrayed you. I regret last night more than anything."

"I know you do, I can see it in your eyes," Zack said, cradling her face in his hands. "What do you say we just start over? You know, move on. Leave this in the past."

Mel wrapped her arms tightly around him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'd love that," she whispered.

A moment of calm silence passed, and then Mel whispered, "Zack?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Mel," Zack murmured, kissing her. "And I always will."

**Help me remember.**

**The way that it used to be.**

**When nothin' else mattered,**

'**Cause you were lovin' me.**

**Oh, help me remember.**

**Oh, help me, help me.**

**END**


End file.
